COUGAR GOLF: U of H men finish third at Reunion Intercollegiate

Published 11:30 pm, Tuesday, April 15, 2014

University of Houston senior James Ross led three Cougars among the top-7 leaders during the final day of the Reunion Intercollegiate on Tuesday afternoon at Reunion Golf and Country Club.

With rain shortening the tournament to 36 holes and then halting First Round play on Monday afternoon, Ross finished his opening round with a 72 on Tuesday morning and followed with another 72 to tie for second overall at even-par 144 on the 7,305-yard course.

The Edinburgh, Scotland, native overcame a roller-coaster start to his second round that featured three bogeys and a back-to-back birdies through his first six holes. However, Ross rallied to play bogey-free golf with a birdie on the par-5, 10th hole during the last 12 holes to post his best finish as a Cougar.

Junior Roman Robledo and senior Curtis Reed joined Ross among the tournament’s top-10 leaders. Robledo finished his first round at 73 and bettered that by one stroke in the afternoon to finish in a tie for fourth at 145. Reed completed his opening round with a 1-under-par 71 and finished in a tie for seventh at 146.

Reed posted his second straight top-10 finish while Robledo enjoyed his sixth top-10 finish of the 2013-14 season.

“Those three guys played great,” Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke said. “They hung in there and posted solid rounds under some tough conditions.”

The tournament was originally scheduled for 54 holes over two days with Mother Nature giving the competitors all they could handle. On Monday, more than four inches of rain fell with winds gusting from the southwest. One day later, the wind turned around, blowing 20 to 30 mph from the northeast with cold temperatures for mid-April

As a team, the Cougars finished third with a score of 593. Mississippi State captured the team championship at 588, while No. 15 Vanderbilt finished second at 592. Host Mississippi (596), Western Kentucky (601), Austin Peay State (603), Central Arkansas (604), Southern Miss (606) and Louisiana-Lafayette (606) rounded out the top-nine team leaders.

Central Arkansas’ Pep Angles earned medalist honors at 3-under-par 141. Ross joined Mississippi’s Blake Morris in a tie for second at 141, while Robledo tied for fourth at 145 with Mississippi State’s Axel Boasson and Zack Jaworski of Vanderbilt.

Following the Reunion Intercollegiate, the Cougars start postseason play when they compete at the American Athletic Conference Championships on April 27-29 at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club at Palm Harbor, Fla.